Display and storage rack

ABSTRACT

A display and storage rack for upholstered furniture is constructed of an angle iron framework with the horizontal support members locked to the corner posts by means of a bayonet coupling and a single bolt at each connection.

[ 1 Aug. 5, 1975 United States Patent [191 Feldman Kinnear Hooker...............................

673 667 999 HHH 799 907 053 90 636 13 333 1 1 DISPLAY AND STORAGE RACK [75] Inventor: Sol Feldman, Philadelphia, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Oxford Metal Products Co., Inc.,

Philadelphia, Pa.

Dec. 20, 1973 14,214 6/1910 United Kingdom........v........... 5/304 [22] Filed:

21 A 1. No.: 426,547 1 pp Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant E.\'aminerPeter A. Aschenbrenner 2 m1 W m .c r h u n&

C l d U mm..

A display and storage rack for upholstered furniture is constructed of an angle iron framework with the hori- [56] References Cited zontal support members locked to the corner posts by UNITED STATES PATENTS means of a bayonet coupling and a single bolt at each connection.

1.408.245 2/1922 Barashick 5/299 2927,6961 3/1960 Michaels et 211/27 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures DISPLAY AND STORAGE RACK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to display racks used fordisplay and storage of upholstered furniture and the like,

Furniture display racks of the type here involved must be of sturdy construction to support the weight of several pieces of heavy upholstered chairs or sofas. Customarily, such racks may be as much as 8 feet in length, a few feet deep, and two or three tiers high. Such racks have been constructed of steel members which are assembled to form a framework and are shipped unassembled in view of their size. Because of the assembly of the racks at the location where they are used, it is desirable that a simple and effective coupling of the steel members be provided, and especially one which can be effective for ready assembly of the racks. Due to the heavy weight of the upholstered pieces carried by the display framework, and the support of the casters on caster wheels, the corner post couplings must also be sturdy and effective to provide firm coupling notwithstanding stresses and strains produced by movement of the loaded display racks on the caster wheels.

In prior display racks, a brace member was connected at an angle across the corner post and the longitudinal framing member, whereby a three-point coupling was required, employing a separate bolt at each point.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a new and improved furniture display and storage rack.

Another object is to provide a new and improved mobile furniture display and; storage rack formed of steel angle members which can be readily assembled.

Another object is to provide a new and improved furniture display and storage rack which uses a simple and sturdy coupling device for the framework members.

In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, a new and improved display and storage rack having two or three tiers for display of upholstered pieces, such as chairs or sofas, is constructed of an angle iron framework having side members formed of front and rear corner posts fabricated of elongated steel angle members and cross members welded between the corner posts to provide a sturdy framework with regard to forces directed forwardly and backwardly. Extending between the side frame members are steel angle members arranged as pairs of support members forming the successive tiers of the display rack and also serving as part of the basic framework of the rack. The support members of each pair are coupled to the respective front and rear corner posts of each side frame. The coupling consists of a flat plate welded to the front face of one set of angle members and having a bolt hole through the plate and front face for passing a; bolt therethrouth. In addition, the plate extends beyond the face of the angle member and has at the end thereof a bayonet coupling element for connection to the mating bayonet element on the face of the corner post angle member. With this construction, the bayonet coupling serves to provide a quick connection and a single bolt is effective to pass through the hole and complete the coupling to the corner post, and the support members and corner posts bear against each other to form a rigid framework.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The foregoing and other objects of this invention, the various features thereof, as well as the invention itself, may be more fully understood from the following description when read together with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display and storage rack embodying this invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded view in perspective of a coupling device used at the corner of the rack of FIG. 1, shown in a broken-line circle.

In the drawing, corresponding parts are referenced throughout by similar numerals.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The display and storage rack 10 shown in FIG. 1 is constructed with two side frame sections 12 and 14, which are each formed by two corner posts 16 and 18 and 20 and 22. These posts are fabricated of steel elongated angle members connected together by top and bottom cross members 24 and 26, which may be bolted or welded to the corner posts and provide front to rear rigidity to the assembled rack. The bottom ends of the corner posts have suitable sockets secured thereto for receiving caster wheels 28. The side frames 12 and 14 are connected together by parallel support members arranged in front and rear pairs 30 and 32 and 34 and 36 to form support tiers. These support members are also formed of steel elongated angle members. A third pair of support members may be provided, arranged in a similar fashion to serve as a third support tier in a manner which will be apparent from the description herein.

Each of the pairs of support members serves as a rack support for upholstered furniture such as sofas 38 and chairs 40, which are placed astride the support members and supported thereby. Thus the support members serve not only as structural framing members for the display rack, but also as supports for the upholstered pieces for display and storage. The support members 30 and 32 may be located equidistant from the lower end of the corner posts 16 and 18, or the rear support member 32 may be elevated with respect to the front support member 30 so that the sofa 38 is tilted forwardly in its display condition. This tilted arrangement is especially desirable for the higher tier of support members 34 and 36 and where a third tier is provided.

For storage and shipment of the display rack, the support members 30-36 are disassembled from the corner posts 16-22. By means of the special coupling arrangement of this invention shown in FIG. 2, the display rack is readily assembled and the coupling of the support members to corner posts is neatly formed, and a sturdy display rack is achieved.

The coupling device makes use of a rectangular plate 42 which is welded to each end of the vertical leg 44 of the angle iron that forms support member 34 (and similarly for each of the other support members). A bolt hole 46 is drilled near the end of the support mem bers through the leg 44 and plate 42, and a similar hole 48 is formed in the front leg 49 of the corner post 18 (and similarly for each of the other corner posts), so that the bolt 50 passes through the bolt holes 46 and 48 and can be tightened thereon by nut 52. In this condition, the edge 54 of the end of the support member 34 is nested within the angle of corner post 18 and butts against the inside face of side leg 55 of the corner post angle member. At the lower end of the plate 42 a headed pin 56 (e.g. a shouldered rivet) is fixed and projects therefrom to mate with a keyhole opening 58 in the leg 49 of corner post 18, which opening 58 has an enlarged part to pass the head of the pin 56 and a smaller portion 59 in which the shank of the pin is secured. The longitudinal legs 45 of the support members and the side legs 55 of the corner posts have the same width (e.g., 1.5 inches), while the vertical legs 44 may be wider (e.g., 2 inches) for weight bearing.

The coupling operation is performed by nesting the end of support member 34 inside of the angle of corner post 18, so that the head 56 of the bayonet coupling pin is inserted in the enlarged portion of the opening 58 and slid downward to engage the pin in the smaller portion of the opening thereof. The bolt holes 46 and 48 on the end of the support member and corner post are then in alignment, and bolt 50 is readily passed therethrough and the nut 52 applied to it to form a tight coupling. Thus the assembly operation is a relatively rapid one, with but a single bolt required for each end of a support member, since the bayonet coupling of the head of pin 56 and enlarged opening 58, 59 is a sturdy one and readily connected. In a similar fashion, a bolt 50 and pin 56 connection is formed between the other end of support 34 and corner post 22, and between the ends of support member 30 and corner posts 18 and 22. Likewise, the rear support members 32 and 36 are connected to the corner posts 16 and 20. The single bolt connection and bayonet coupling at each end of each support member 30, 32, 34, 36 is generally effective to prevent swaying of the assembled and loaded rack. In addition, the butting of the ends of the supports in the corner posts provides additional bracing.

At the top tier, the support member 34 forms a flush surface with the top edge of corner posts 18 and 22, which top edges may be smoothed by a suitable angular plastic cap or sleeve 60. Thus the top tier formed by support members 34 and 36 is finished so that chairs 40 may be placed thereupon and the upholstered fabrics will be safe from tears and the like.

For the lower tier, support members 30 and 32 are secured in the same fashion so that a common construction may be used for all of the support members, which makes them interchangeable and thereby simplifies the assembly process. Where more than two tiers are employed, the additional tier or tiers are located in intermediate positions on the corner posts in a manner similar to the support members 30 and 32. Other modifications of this invention will be apparent from the above description of this invention, the scope of which is not limited by the specific details of the preferred embodiment described above, but only by the claims set forth hereinafter.

Accordingly, a new and improved furniture display and storage rack is provided by this invention. A coupling device is used for the angle framing members which insures ready assembly of the rack and a sturdy connection of the frame so that the rack can be readily assembled and coupled for support of heavy upholstered furniture.

What is claimed is:

l. A multi-tiered display and storage rack comprising a plurality of vertical corner post members formed of elongated steel angle members connected front to rear to form end frames;

a plurality of pairs of horizontal support members formed of elongated steel angle members adpated to be coupled to said corner post members to complete the rack framework and for support of furniture thereon;

and a plurality of coupling joints and devices for connecting the ends of said support members to said corner post members, the improvement therein of each of said coupling joints and devices including a plate fastened to and projecting from an end of each of said horizontal members and being mounted to the vertical leg thereof and extending parallel thereto and transversely to the longitudinal axis of said horizontal member,

a bayonet coupling including a headed pin and an elongated mating hole, said pin and mating hole being aligned and respectively located on said coupling plate and said corner post members,

and a bolt, and aligned bolt holes in said corner post member and the vertical leg of said horizontal member,

said coupling devices being located on said members so that the ends of said horizontal and vertical legs of said horizontal support members bear against and nest within and butt against the inside angle faces of said vertical corner post members,

said coupling devices being positioned in pairs at a plurality of elevations on said vertical corner post members to establish locations for said horizontal support members,

whereby said rack is readily assembled and sturdily coupled.

2. A multi-tiered display and storage rack as recited in claim 1, wherein the top ends of said corner post members are substantially flush with said support mem bers attached thereto.

3. A multi-tiered display and storage rack as recited in claim 2 wherein a plurality of said coupling devices secure a pair of said horizontal support members to intermediate portions of said vertical corner post members. 

1. A multi-tiered display and storage rack comprising a plurality of vertical corner post members formed of elongated steel angle members connected front to rear to form end frames; a plurality of pairs of horizontal support members formed of elongated steel angle members adpated to be coupled to said corner post members to complete the rack framework and for support of furniture thereon; and a plurality of coupling joints and devices for connecting the ends of said support members to said corner post members, the improvement therein of each of said coupling joints and devices including a plate fastened to and projecting from an end of each of said horizontal members and being mounted to the vertical leg thereof and extending parallel thereto and transversely to the longitudinal axis of said horizontal member, a bayonet coupling including a headed pin and an elongated mating hole, said pin and mating hole being aligned and respectively located on said coupling plate and said corner post members, and a bolt, and aligned bolt holes in said corner post member and the vertical leg of said horizontal member, said coupling devices being located on said members so that the ends of said hoRizontal and vertical legs of said horizontal support members bear against and nest within and butt against the inside angle faces of said vertical corner post members, said coupling devices being positioned in pairs at a plurality of elevations on said vertical corner post members to establish locations for said horizontal support members, whereby said rack is readily assembled and sturdily coupled.
 2. A multi-tiered display and storage rack as recited in claim 1, wherein the top ends of said corner post members are substantially flush with said support members attached thereto.
 3. A multi-tiered display and storage rack as recited in claim 2 wherein a plurality of said coupling devices secure a pair of said horizontal support members to intermediate portions of said vertical corner post members. 